Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 13.7% after selling 7,928 shares, leaving them with 50,024 shares valued at $47.31 million.
• Costco reported a quarterly EPS of $4.28, beating estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.0%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15, with a 0.56% dividend yield.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,024 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,928 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $47,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $935.48. 1,825,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $992.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $983.84. The company has a market cap of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.